U.S. nonrubber footwear output up 2% as imports slip in first quarter. (footwear industry)

U.S. nonrubber footwear output up 2%, as imports slip 12% in first quarter

WASHINGTON (FNS) -- U.S. nonrubber footwear production increased slightly in the first quarter, as nonrubber imports slipped 12 percent, with Taiwanese imports suffering a substantial falloff and Brazil surpassing South Korea as the nation's second-largest source of nonrubber footwear.

U.S. production of nonrubber footwear in the first quarter of 1989 increased 2 percent to 56 million pairs valued at almost $1 billion, the International Trade Commission (ITC) reported last week.

Following a 3 percent increase in production in the last quarter of 1988, the first-quarter increase …